NYT Writer to Blogger: 'What Do You Want to Do With Your Life?'

Today in passive-aggressive media spats: New York Times reporter Charles Duhigg swears he doesn't mind that Forbes blogger Kashmir Hill block-quoted liberally from an article he wrote, it's just that Kashmir is wasting her life and selling her body for money.

The hullaballoo began when another blogger accused Kashmir of stealing Duhigg's article by repackaging it into a blog post that ended up going viral. Media blogger Jim Romenesko invited all three writers to discuss the kerfuffle. And, though lengthy discussions of new media ethics make me want to slit my wrists, I feel compelled to further antagonize Charles Duhigg by quoting liberally from his response. Emphasis mine:

I don't begrudge any journalist doing what it takes to get published and make a name in the world. (And, in fact, Ms. Hill has done a public service. As one commentator here said, my article has "tiny-ass font" and "felt draggy draggy draggy." And the NYT has a paywall! The nerve.)

However, at the end of the day, I think it's worth gently posing the question: what do you want to do with your life? Again, I don't begrudge Ms. Hill. I once sold blood to make payroll—and though I wouldn't recommend the experience, I'm not ashamed of it. If I was starting in journalism today, I would probably be summarizing every story I could find (and it probably wouldn't even occur to me to mention someone else's book.)

But every hour spent summarizing is an hour not spent reporting. And at the end of the day, this job is only really fun if you discover what no one else already knows.

Discovery: Charles Duhigg, a talented journalist, is also a patronizing clown. Furthermore: NYT writers are the kind of nerds who say "BOOYAH" during Twitter fights about putting another writer "in her place." Note that this tweet CC's NYT's social media editor.

Go away, all of you. I don't want to be a journalist, a blogger, or even a literate human being anymore. [Romenesko]